The Taurus
Taurus: Religion and Leadership: The Taurus worship the, "Great Rock." Long ago, a giant rock fell from the sky, decimating Camp Valgas. The rock, however, gave them incredible power that allowed them to bend the earth to their will, and commune with those that had past on their earth. A Shaman is put in-charge of moderating the use of the rock's Chakra extorted out of the rock's limited power, the Shaman will also appoint disciples under him to study and change the form of chakra into different spells. Magic: The power of the Great Rock has built a philosophy of Shamanism that spread rampant across the Taurus society as soon as chakra was first manipulated from the astral core within the Great Rock. The chakra was seen as a blessing to the Taurus, and often times a curse. With the Great Rock, they were able to use the chakra to do wonderful things, and deadly things. From assisting an aged farmer recover from illness, to decimating an entire culture, the chakra the Great Rock possessed, was neutral entirely. To be permitted to test your ability to manipulate the chakra, you must speak with the Shaman and be accepted into the current clan in-charge of the Rock. This often has cycled from clan to clan, with the appointment of new Shamans. If you are accepted into his clan, however, you'll be appointed a Disciple rank and charged with basic chakra manipulation. The typical chakra patterns that have been established are; Courage, Pride, and Bond Courage teaches the philosophy of striking first, for those that strike first have the upper-hand. You'll learn the ability, Quake. Pride teaches the philosophy of shielding oneself, and those around them. You'll learn the ability, Earthwall, and Overgrowth. Bonds teaches the philosophy of never facing an opponent alone. You'll learn how to bind elementals to your persons. Origin: The Mighty Taurus, a race that knows the face of both pride, and shame. A corrupt Shaman, whom had rose to power through manipulation of the aging Chief Bauldruk, began to overuse the power of the Great Rock, a mighty comet that had crashed into the Earth, creating a strange link to the powers that dwelled within the crust of Colterra. With this overuse, the Great Rock began to crack and crumble. The Taurus looked for a scapegoat, and the Shaman, wishing to retain his position of power, blamed the fate of the Rock on the Elves, and their use of Elementals. The Taurus saw this as a continued threat, and eventually through much urging of the Shaman, and his followers, the Chieftain agreed to use whatever means necessary to rid the Isle of these hoarders. The Shaman conjured up a new spell, and poisoned the elvish waters near Crescent Bay, their capital. Eventually, the Elves fell to insanity from the poison and power of the curse. Their forms twisted into that of beasts, along with their sanity. They began to cannibalize their species, causing the once peaceful Elementals that had been living in harmony with the Elves to go mad as well. This completely destroyed Crescent Bay, and with the poison, the forests were affected as well, twisting and turning, completely engulfing the magnificent port-city, and changing it into a deadly grave for all those who’d befallen the curse. The Taurus rejoiced at this, finally feeling like their Great Rock was free from the power-crazed Elves. The Shaman smirked at his ability to fool his race, and its leader. The Men of the North, however, saw this act as a declaration of war. They took to arms, calling their giant Frost-wolves, sharpened blades, and ravaged the Trading Post in the Whisperwood, Hadun. The Taurus called this an ‘Act of Genocide’, and declared formal war on the Men of the North. They engaged in a four year struggle for power, with great armies battling back and forth, seizing outposts, small land territories, but no real gains. The Men of the North all rallied back to the Precursor's Fortress, and made an all-out push to take the Taurus capital of Farwind. As the Men of the North marched across the plains, the Chieftain began to panic. He told the Shaman to use the curse on the Men of the North, as they would lose by the end of the day. The Shaman agreed, willingly, and excited to test his curse once more. He let the curse ravage the lands, towards the army. As the deadly curse gripped the men, strangely, their minds still remained calm, however, their physical form changed to that of beasts, with large claws. Their bodies expanded, adrenaline pumped, and blood-lust heightened, the curse had backfired. Instead of driving the Men insane, it only turned them into beasts with sanity! This was due to the fact, the Shaman had overused the Rock, which had shrunk even more after that spell. The Chieftain cried out in anger, stating the Shaman had been working with the Men the whole time. He began to initiate the curse himself, and aimed it at his ‘Braves’, his most elite warriors. Tanuk Bloodhoof, a Brave of the Taurus Stampede, rushed to the Chieftain before he could cast the spell, and slew him with his pike. The Great War had been concluded, with a meeting held at the Ruins of Hadun. A cease-fire was initiated between both sides as the corrupt Chieftain was dead, and Tanuk was instated as the ruling Chief in his stead. The Stonehoof Clan was shamed, and treated poorly after the Great War. Much hatred is directed at these men as many believe they were the cause of the war. The Shaman was nowhere to be seen after the Great War, most likely having fled the Camp to avoid prosecution. With the Great War over, and the many issues prevailing from your past deeds, you, Taurus, must make up for your previous wrongs. You must take the mantle, and right your ancestor's wrongs. Cultural and Physical Norms: The Taurus themselves, resemble that of burly minotaur, whom hold a strong dedication to the preservation of wildlife, their culture, and peace itself. While their past actions had gone against this social norm, past the Great War they have returned to this state. The Taurus pride themselves in being omnivores, often hunting and gathering to provide for their families. The Taurus is home to the Great Hunter's Lodge, a lodge that gathers men of all races whom wish to hunt the most powerful of beasts, and earn honorary titles from doing so. ''Other Races and Political views: '' The Taurus are very neutral from their previous stance as a world-power. They don't want to intervene in other race's lives any further, as they've caused much havoc. They wish only to assist those they've wronged, however, they do see the Satyr and their Elemental Companions as a threat to all, and actively fight them.